Budget blame game

Premier Denis Napthine is pleading with the Abbott government to ''bring forward'' Commonwealth infrastructure funding to offset the pain caused by the looming end of manufacturing by Holden.

Dr Napthine revealed before a meeting of federal cabinet on Monday evening to discuss the car industry crisis he has been pushing for several ''significant'' yet-to-be announced infrastructure projects for Victoria, potentially including a second stage of the east-west link connecting the Tullamarine Freeway to the Western Ring Road, the Metro rail project and public transport improvements.

The plea comes ahead of the release of a report warning that Australia's ship-building industry will grind to a halt from 2015 unless major orders for new warships and submarines are brought forward.

Illustration: Ron Tanderg

With the manufacturing industry still reeling from confirmation Holden will leave Australia in 2017, following Ford's 2016 departure, the ship-building industry fears it will slip into what the sector calls the ''valley of death'' - a slowdown on planned work from 2015 until after 2018.

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A new report warns thousands of jobs will go, including 1000 in Williamstown, unless Canberra commits to building new navy ships.

Dr Napthine said Mr Abbott had already reassured him on Monday afternoon that extra infrastructure funding for Victoria would be ''under cabinet consideration'' to stimulate local jobs.

Hopes of a significant rescue package come despite expectations the Abbott government will unveil a budget deficit of about $50 billion for the current financial year.

''We've outlined that we have a number of projects that we are interested in,'' Dr Napthine said. ''We are building regional rail, we are building east-west link and there is stage two still to come in east-west link, which is certainly an area we have some interest.''

Mr Abbott has repeatedly ruled out Commonwealth funding for commuter rail projects, saying the government should ''stick to its knitting'' and focus on roads. During the election campaign, he said he would withdraw funding set aside to start work on Melbourne's Metro rail - a tunnel from South Kensington to South Yarra that would allow an extra 20,000 passengers in peak hour.

Given the Holden crisis, Victoria will urge Mr Abbott to reconsider his refusal to fund the project, with Dr Napthine insisting it would boost regional and freight services, adding V/Line capacity to Gippsland and allowing a link to the expanded Port of Hastings.

On Tuesday at shipyards in Williamstown, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union will release a new report into Australian naval ship-building that is written in part by former navy and Defence Department analyst Andrew Cawley. It warns that thousands of jobs could be lost.

BAE Systems runs the Williamstown shipyard, which has been in operation since 1858. But unless a major ship-building project is brought forward, there is the risk the company will shut the yard.

BAE spokesman Simon Latimer said the company was in discussions with Canberra about the need for extra naval work at Williamstown, ''because in 2014, we face a significant reduction in the workload'', he said.

Work on current projects at three of the nation's four shipyards will end in 2015, slashing the industry workforce from more than 4000 to fewer than 1000.

Defence Minister David Johnston said the government was committed to a new defence white paper with costed and affordable plans for the area, and a capability plan that would provide long-term clarity for the industry.

''Australia's defence industry has shed around 5000 jobs in the past few years as the previous government cut so much money out of defence that projects have had to be deferred or cancelled. We are now at funding levels in defence, as a percentage of GDP, not seen since 1938,'' Senator Johnston said.

Centre for Independent Studies research fellow Simon Cowan said it was crucial that Australia's defence requirements led the argument about public spending, ''and not workforce requirements''.

He said bringing forward ship-building projects would have major impacts on other areas of government spending. ''Replacing [the car industry] with an industry which is even more niche and has even fewer workers, and would need even greater subsidies, would not be a good approach,'' he said.

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said Australians wanted Mr Abbott to ''stick up for local jobs''.

84 comments

Spend more money on defence to save jobs? Sounds like we need a new world war, that will kick start the economy.

Commenter

Trashman

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 7:28AM

Don't laugh about starting a war to create money - isn't that what the neo cons in the US are all about?

Commenter

Jen

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 7:36AM

if only we had a neighbour worth annexing

Commenter

man cuddles

Location

melbourne

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 7:47AM

Tony and Joe Hockey won't spend on defence, they won't have the money. They'll need Billions and Billions on the Parental Payment Scheme that will keep rich mums in cash. True to form the Liberal National Party are ramping up middle (upper middle) class welfare. Jobs or welfare? Seems the LNP are on the welfare side.

Commenter

Are they nuts?

Location

La La Land

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 7:55AM

Don't give Aboat any ideas please. His diplomacy skills aren't doing us any favours as it is.And he doesn't "do" rail. Batten down the hatches, it's going to be a bumpy ride under Peta.

Commenter

A country gal

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 8:10AM

Now I understand why Napthine is personally so desperate to build the East-West tunnel which will turn into a massive white elephant like the Clem 7 and Airport Link tunnels in Brisbane and the Cross City and Lane Cove tunnels in Sydney - it's the only way left for the Vic government to keep moving the state along as it groans under the growing pressure of its runaway population growth while its once proud industrial base is disintegrates. It is the ultimate in economic can kicking a state can engage in, hoping that by the time it's finished "something will turn up".

Since serving the desires of the banksters to earn massive fees, toll road builders and operators, the road lobby and trucking magnates is the only way to get a transport project going, his government has punted everything, the economic future of the state and his government, on this relatively short, massively expensive project that will suck resources from essential, but unglamorous PT, road and service projects all over the state.

The desperate attempt to get Abbot to take off his idiotic ideological bias against rail - a man who has been living in isolation from the real world for most of his working life - exposes the desperation and real motives of Dr Napthine and the sheer recklessness and madness driving the E-W toll road project.

Commenter

Rev Jim Jones

Location

Remember the Desal !

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 9:04AM

If Abbott started a war tomorrow you know it'd be labors fault...

Commenter

V0ter

Location

Melb

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 9:32AM

The 1.5 billion dollar gift of taxpayers money the Abbot government has promised to the private consortium that builds the East-West would pay for the complete overhaul of Melbourne's train signalling system and allow the congested system to run many more train services during the peak hours. But no, Abbot knows its better to force city commuters to use the toll roads. The banksters are laughing all the way, to their banks.

Commenter

Mick

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 9:34AM

Naphthine is like Turnbull an idiot who is in the wrong party building railways is the quickest way to send a state into bankruptcy unless it is done by private enterprise however this is not possible in the socialist republic of Victoria as the unions will sabotage them.

Commenter

brinkin

Date and time

December 17, 2013, 9:45AM

The last thing we need is yet another gigantic inner city tollway dumping thousands of extra cars cars onto already crowded inner city roads. This particular situation demands solutions built around railways, not tollways!

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